September 6, 1969 (1969-09-06) – September 4, 1971 (1971-09-04)
Hot Wheels is a thirty-minute Saturday morning cartoon series broadcast on ABC from 1969 to 1971, under the primary sponsorship of Mattel Toys.[1] The show took pains to stress that it was "pro-safety", contrasting the safe and responsible behavior of the series' racing-club protagonists with the reckless behavior of their rivals.[2]
The show was criticized by the Federal Communications Commission, which considered it a half-hour commercial for toy cars. ABC contested the charge, saying that there was no prior commitment to Mattel, and that Hot Wheels cars were never advertised during the program. The network was backed up by the National Association of Broadcasters, and the show remained on the ABC schedule for two seasons.[2]
Synopsis
The series mainly focused on the racing exploits of a high school student, Jack "Rabbit" Wheeler, who led the Hot Wheels Racing Club.
Some time during the show's broadcast, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) received complaints from toy companies who argued that it was actually a thirty-minute commercial for the toys; one of them was Topper Toys, a rival to Mattel.[3] The FCC obliged by ordering stations to log part of the airings as advertising time.[3][4]
^ abErickson, Hal (2005). Television Cartoon Shows: An Illustrated Encyclopedia, 1949 Through 2003 (2nd ed.). McFarland & Co. pp. 416–417. ISBN978-1476665993.
